The Strange Way Americans Use Smartphones

When we think of the benefits of owning a smartphone, a litany of uses comes up. Sending texts, reading emails, posting Tweets, listening to music, taking photos, identifying ambient music, checking the weather, mapping a road trip, etc. As technology and features progress, rarely do we think of a smartphone for its number one intended purpose.

Making phone calls.

However, a recent study by Pew Research flies in the face of conception and concludes that American adults still prefer a traditional phone call than receiving a text message.

Strange, huh?

Surveying 2,277 Americans aged 18 and older, Pew found that 83% of the subjects own cell phones and nearly three-quarters of that group (73%) send and receive text messages. Although well-versed in the brief non-verbal communication, 53% preferred to be contacted by a phone call. Less than a third (31%) opted for the text message, and only 14% said that the method depended on the situation.

But before you chalk up the majority of Americans as some sort of Neo-Luddite traditionalists, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 skew the results back into the norm -- texting, on average, over 100 times per day.